Update on Gates Foundation Malaria Grants

Dear Colleagues,

I'm pleased to let you know that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently awarded 13 new grants—totaling nearly $200 million—to help fight malaria.

The funding will support initiatives to strengthen existing malaria control programs, and to pursue a wide range of research on new strategies to prevent and treat the disease.

Among the new grants are the following:

• $42 million to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to identify ways to optimize delivery of artemisinin combination therapy
  
  
• $37 million to the Medicines for Malaria Venture to accelerate the development of effective, affordable malaria drugs
  
  
• $30 million to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to evaluate new and existing drugs and vector control interventions to protect pregnant women and their babies from malaria
  
  
• $15 million to PATH for additional support to the Malaria Control and Evaluation Program in Africa (MACEPA)
  
  
• $9 million to the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute for research on a malaria vaccine for pregnant women
  
  
• $3 million to WHO to study ways to prevent resistance to artemisinin

These grants come at a time of new momentum in the global fight against malaria—we're seeing growing commitment among political leaders; impressive gains in prevention and treatment efforts; and encouraging scientific progress. It is exciting to see such a diverse range of efforts underway to combat the disease more effectively.

Many of you joined us in October at the foundation's Malaria Forum in Seattle, which brought together leading scientists, health experts, and policymakers from around the world. One of the highlights was a joint keynote speech by Bill and Melinda Gates, who called for a new global commitment to fighting—and ultimately, eradicating—malaria.

If you'd like to read the speech, or for more information about the Malaria Forum or our new malaria grants, please visit our malaria page.

I look forward to continuing our work together to fight malaria.  If you have any comments or questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

With best regards,

Gina